Process and apparatus for stitching



as,` for' instance?, leather, has heretofore' been Patented Feb. 12, 1935' PROCESS' AND APPARATUS FOR- STITCHIN G Rbert'T. Brauer andEdw'ard J. Brauer, sa.' Louis, Moz Appxieationfmnuary 211, 1931, serial No. 510,164

This'invention relates, generally; to sewing, and' more particularly' to the art of cor'ner'stitchingA thin material.

Angular stitching of strips of material, such 1y to Figures 1 and 2A thereof; it will beobsertfcd` that the sewing machine 1, which'may be ofthe'4 usual construction', is 'provided with' a; presser'- foot 2; having an up" and' down movement, and 9.-' presser'foot 3, having a four directior'iriioveinent; TheI presser foot- 3 is provided vwitliaifi"openi11'g'4` through the foot portion thereof, adapted to ref' ceive and. guide a needle 75 in' its niove'nientl The needle 5 is of the type usually employed with sewing machines, and having-'an' eye tlepoint thereof for'receiving a;l strand' of'v'th-read-, such a's 615 Eitendingbeneath the presser"4 f eet 2 'and 3,' and adapted 'for'- engageiiieri'tthereby; as well'as for"v supporting andgidiigthefworkt befstitch'ed, is atable 7 having at the outer extremity' thereof anin'clined-'portion -for'a purposeto be' later described.' Beneath vthe table 'T- is provided lthe usual shuttle' constinotion"`l 9- for securing the thread '6 when-inserted through'the-'work by' the needle 5.

Disposed'directly beneath the presser -feet-2 and' 3, and' inl thesame plane 'as:the-horaontalportioni of the table' '7,' is a--plate "1l having-'a slot 12 therethrough. The' plate lllextendsfslightly beyond the plane of the inclined portion-'J8 of'thetable, so asto form',` ineffect,- af'rib"projecting from the table 7 at theintersection of the planes'of the horizontal portion' and-theinclined portion 8-1v The article to be stitched,--as has been' previously stated, is `for 'the purpose of illustration a gun case pad-g whichconsists off 'afstri'pof thin' material 13v forming the 'bott'oir'i'thereof,' and: a sti-*ipof thin' material 14 disp'osed'-l substantially at right angles to and ab'uttin'g'- the edgeot'- the -strip I13, and it will be understoodthat the portion' 14 is that portion which surrounds the'stock of' the gum-while the'por'tion 13`ov'erlies' the -butt of the gun; Disposed between-"the'thini strips 13 and-'14;- as clearly'illustrated'inf' Figure" 2', is'='a resilient padl l5, preferably'form'ed off'spongyrubber' mai-f terial, disposed'for` engagement directly-withithe butt plate-of the gun', so-as to 'formi acushion-ftherefor.

In the manufacture ofA articles oit'- thisv nature, the members 13, 14 and 15,'-arerst glued-together in theirdesired relation. Th'egluing operation is merely for thev purpose of maintaining the members in their desired 'relative positions during the `subsequent stitching process,l to be now described.'

The-members 13,` -14 and 15, after being glued' inthe desired'relationf-so that-a. pre-arranged fined-to-theproces's ofA stitching'such'a gun-case euri case' padis' presented; ar'e'place'd upon the pad. inclined portion 8` of'fthe sewing' machine table,

Referring n'ow'to-the draw-ing,"andparticularl as' clearly' illustrated in'Fi'gure 2. It willbe ob'- rea'dily accomplished with strips' of substantial tl'ckness; and this-operation has been carried' ou't"o`ytl'1"e u'seoffan awl with' af hook needle'fand a4 looper; Itha's been' found', however, that 'thin' materials cannot be stitched by' such-'aprocess, and'it has heretofore been in ipossible to corner# stitch'such materials, since when thel awl is withdrawn from thin materials; the materialfspring's baeksoA thatthe Vneedle will' not' follow' the awl h'ole': vByethe term;-comera-stitchingwill be understood'A a'p'rocess' in' which the' members to be stitched-fare arranged' angular relationso as to formfa'cornera'nd thesttch" inserted diagonally'ac'ross thean'glefor'n'ied 'Il'ieprocess of this invention will be understood to be of general utility, although' itis especially adapted for'the stitching' offleather strips,'such-as'; for instance; inv thefprocess of forming-'gun' case pads.

The object of this'"inventi'on is, generally stated, tcvpr'ovidet a process 'and apparatus 7*by which corner-'stitching 'ofthin material isI-'possilila A"-fu`rtlier"object` ofthis invention is toprovide an' inclined table-for a sewing machine-by means ol'whi'ch it 'is possible to corner-stitchmaterial supported thereupon.

Other objects of thi'sinvention'- will become ap parent to those skilled in' the art'when the-following description is read in conjunction' withA the vac'corn'paiiyi'ng'drawing, in which:-

Figure lis' -a'view-'in end elevationf of the sewing machine havinga table constructed in accordance with this invention;- A

Figure 2'is a'view 'inf side 'elevation of '-thesewing-"machineof- Figure l, bein'g'f shown partly insection; and" Figure 3'is a detail viewof the corner of a piece of 'work showing` in particular the dispositionof the stitch therethrough.

In accordance-with this invention, a' sewing machine of the foot feeding -typ'e is provided with anangularly disposedtable' 'portion for support'- ing the work' to be stitched, and to facilitate inE guiding-the same-beneath the needle'- of the sewing-machine;- As previously'stated, the process 'of'this-invention is particularly' adapted lto the stitching of--gu'n` case pads; an'd-fo'r` the purpose of illustration, the description herein will be oon"- served that the member 13 of the gun case pad is provided with an extension 16, extending for a short distance beyond the member 14, which extension is left in order to facilitate the stitching operation, but which, it will be understood, is severed after the stitching operation is completed. When the gun case pad is placed upon the inclined portion 8, the presser foot 2 is brought down upon the extension 16, gripping the same against the plate 11. Operation ofthe sewing machine is then begun.

When the sewing machine begins to operate, the presser foot 3 first moves vertically down against the member 14,; lpinching the'. corner', formed by the members 13 and 14, and includingn the resilient pad 15, therewithin, together against the plate l1. When the presser foot 3 has reached the lowermost limit of its vertical movement, the needle 5 continues to move and pierces the three members at the corner thereof inserting therethrough a stitch 17, in the position illustrated in Figure 3. It isvthus seen that the needle 5 is moved through the material while it is held in position not only by the gripping of presser foot 2, but during a time when the corner is being pinched by the pressure of foot 3 against the plate 11 to compress the resilient pad 15, and bring the thin strips 13 and 1-4 into substantially. a parallel relation.

When the members 13, 14 and 15 have been pierced by the needle 5, and while the eyethereof is still beneath the plate 11, the presser foot 2 is moved vertically to release the grip upon the extension 16, andthe presser foot 3 then moves rearwardly with the needle 5, which, it will be remembered, is still inserted through the members 13, 14 and 15, to move the Work laterally so that it is advanced in position for the next successive stitch. Upon the completion of this lateral movement of the work by the presser foot 3 and the needle 5, the presser foot 2 again moves downwardly to engage the extension 16,'at the advanced position. lIn the meanwhilethe shuttle 9 has moved forward and completed the stitch beneath the surface of the member 13, so that the needle 5 may now be extracted and a stitch will be left through the three pieces of material. Thus after the presser foot 2 has moved-into engagement with the extension 16, the presser foot 3 and the needle 5 are lifted out of engagement with the work and moved forwardly into the position for the next successive stitch, in which the operations just described are repeated.

It is thus apparent that by leaving the extension 16 on the member 13 so that it may be gripped by the presser foot 2 and the plate 11, it becomes possible to maintain such an article as a gun case pad in the `desired position on a sewing machine, so that the corner thereof may be stitched. Furthermore, the stitching process facilitated by pinching the materials together inside the corner, so as to bring the side and end members, that is, members 14 and 13, respectively, into a substantially parallel relation in which the needle with its thread may be readily inserted.

Since it is apparent that many modifications of this invention will present themselves to those skilled in the art, which shall not depart from the spirit of this invention; and since many sub-combinations and sub-processes are of individual utility without reference to other features of this invention, it is to be distinctly understood that such modications and the use of such subprocesses and sub-combinations, although not specifically described herein, are contemplated by and within the scope of the appended claims. It shall be furthermore understood that the embodiment herein specifically described shall be construed as merely illustrative and shall not be construed in a limiting sense.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

1. In the art of sewing, the process comprising, arranging strips of materialat an .angle to each other, placing a resilient pad in the corner thus formed, pinching the pad to substantially iiatten the same inside the corner and while so pinched angularly stitching the three members together with suicient looseness that the pad may resume its natural ,shape upon release of the pinching pressure.'

2. 'In the art of sewing, the process comprising, arrangingstrips of material at an angle to each other, placing a pad in the corner thus formed,

pinching the pad to substantially flatten the same inside the corner diagonally forcing a needle having a threaded point through the three members while so pinched, and laterally moving theneedle while therein to-advance the work.

3. In the art of sewing, the process comprising, arranging strips of material at an angle to each other, one of said strips having a portion extending beyond the vertexof the angle, placing a pad in the corner opposite said extended portion, gripping said extended portion, pinching the pad to substantially `lflatten the same inside thev corner and piercing the three. members with a needle having a threaded point.

4. In the art of sewing, the process comprising, arranging strips of material at an angle to each other, one of said-strips having a portion extending beyond the vertex of the angle, placing a pad in the corner opposite said extended portion, gripping said extended portion, pinching the. corner while the extension is gripped, piercing the three members at the pinched portion witha needle having a threaded point, releasing said extended portion and pinched corner, and moving said needle laterally to Vadvance the work.

5. In the art of sewing, the process comprisin arranging strips of material at an angle to each other, one of said strips having a portion extending beyond the` vertex of the angle, placing a pad in the corner opposite said extended portion, gripping said extended portion, pinching the corner while the extension is gripped, piercing the three members at the pinched portion with a needle having. a threaded point, releasing said extended portion andpinched corner, moving said needle laterally to advance the work, gripping said extended portion at the advanced position, and withdrawing the needle. l

6. Inthe art of sewing, the processcomprising,

arranging strips of material at an angle to each other, one of said strips having a portion extending beyond the vertex of the angle, placing a pad in thecorner opposite said extended portion, supporting the work on an inclined plane pinching the pad and strips to an extent such that a surface thereof inside the corner is substantially horizontal, and moving a needle having a threaded poin through the corner in a vertical plane.

'7. In the art of sewing, the process comprising, arranging strips of material at an angle to each other, placing a. resilient pad in the corner thus formed, positively pinching the members together inside the corner, forcing a needle having va threaded point through thepinched members, re-

needle laterally to advance the work.

8. In the art of sewing, the process comprising, arranging strips of material at an angle to each other, one of said strips having a portion extending beyond the vertex of the angle, placing a pad in the corner opposite said extended portion, gripping the extended portion, pinching the corner, and diagonally piercing the pinched corner with a needle having a threaded point.

9. In a machine for stitching through corners, the combination comprising, a work supporting table disposed at an angle to the horizontal approximately half the angle of the corner to be stitched, a horizontal table intersecting with the inclinedtable, a presser foot cooperating with the horizontal table and a second presser foot operating adjacent the intersection of the tables and disposed to pinch the corner against the tables, and a needle operating to stitch the corner While pinched. 

